as the Jaguars spiral

I haven't said anything about Sunday's ugly loss to Buffalo, until now. I guess I'm just getting over the resignation. We really are going nowhere this year. There are good reasons for that. Start with the injuries to key starters. The people who are filling their places are young, inexperienced and inconsistent, so why should I be surprised by inconsistent play? They used to play special teams, but they're starters now. That means the people playing special teams used to be on the practice squad (or sitting at home). There is a reason they were on the practice squad. They were good enough to keep around, but they weren't good enough to play. That hasn't changed, so why should I be surprised when we give up touchdowns on punt returns?

Then there's our excuse for a group of wide receivers. I don't know what happened to Reggie Williams and Matt Jones, both of whom looked so promising early in the year, but neither of them can catch a cold now. Those were our first round draft picks in 2004 and 2005. Our first rounder this year was billed as a big pass catching tight end who was going to help open up the offense. He's been virtually invisible. Our best receiver now is Maurice Jones-Drew. While he's turning into a great player, the fact that our best receiver is a running back isn't good.

Somewhere in the back of my head, reason ought to kick in and tell me you don't lose your quarterback, one of your two best running backs, your best defensive end, your best linebacker and your best safety and still expect to have a great season. The only group that's still intact is the cheerleaders. Sure I keep hoping, because I'm a fan, and fans don't believe in reason, but still...sooner or later the facts have to get beaten into my head and the expectations have to drop a bit.